The Library is positioning itself for active participation in the University’s Strategic Plan. Several years ago, we restructured the organization to improve our services and our work. Within the last year, an internal task force surveyed and questioned the staff to see what was working well and what needed improvement within the teams, divisions, and organization. The task force then analyzed the feedback and prepared a complete report for the organization. We are now taking that feedback and working on ways to build our strengths, improve our weaknesses, and reach our targets and goals set forth in the strategic plan.

Presenters:
Lynne Lysiak, Coordinator of Systems and Automation
Mary Reichel, University Librarian and Belk Distinguished Professor
Appalachian State University

A concrete (pun intended) method of team building is managing a new building program from wish list to grand opening. Using Appalachian State University’s experience with its new $30 million, 215,000 square foot building as a starting point, Lynne Lysiak and Mary Reichel will discuss the advantages and disadvantages of a library team approach to a building project.

At Appalachian State, the Library’s Internal Building Group comprised of 15 faculty and staff was the coordinating group for library decisions related to the building and its furnishings. This experience has helped the presenters think about questions such as how do you shape a building to meet future needs of personnel and users? How do you balance the necessity for keeping the big picture in sight while dealing with thousands of details and individual decisions? How do you have technology which is pervasive, user friendly, and flexible enough to meet today’s and the next decade’s need? How do you weigh the investment of many people’s time in the building project while still running the library? And, overall, was building with a team, a true team building experience?

The presenters will share their thoughts and ideas and ask the audience to engage in discussion and participation on building for the future.

In the fall of 2003, a new Director of Libraries at Binghamton University outlined a vision for transforming the University Libraries into a student centered learning community. This required reorganization of the Library public services departments, with an emphasis on improved staff morale and leadership, in order to set public services on a positive, user centered path. Within the first three months of my arrival in January 2005 as the new Associate Director of Public Services, facilities related situations dictated the merging of the Reserves, Circulation and ILL service points. This was to occur while simultaneously planning was under way for the first phase of an Information Commons collaboration between the Libraries and Computing Services. These transitions were in addition to the ongoing process of combining Reference and Access Services in a branch library, and were furthered influenced by a number of pressing matters, some predating the new Library Administration, and some set in motion by the transitions themselves taking place amid the shifting formal and informal organizational changes occurring in the Library. This session will focus on 3 specific examples of change, as described above, in the first year of reorganizing and energizing Public Services at Binghamton University Libraries and will utilize elements from the Three-Phase Transition Model (Endings, Neutral Zone, and New Beginnings) for managing the changes and transitions.

Presenters:
Cheryl Albrecht, Associate Dean for Public Services, University Libraries, University of Cincinnati
Jane Carlin, Department Head, College of Design, Architecture, Art and Planning, University Libraries, University of Cincinnati

Developing a work environment that engages all staff, commits to continuous improvement, and promotes teaching and learning in line with University programs all while managing budget cuts. Sound impossible? We don't think so. At the University of Cincinnati, University Libraries has undergone a dramatic transformation through the introduction of a strategic planning process that embodies elements of appreciative inquiry, equal treatment of staff and faculty, training in facilitation and listening, and embracing leadership potential at all levels. Our presentation will focus on the strategic planning process implemented at UC: including; setting the stage, "planning the plan", staff input and development and implementation. We will share how we have "operationalized strategic planning" as we begin our second three-year planning cycle.

Presenter:
David Lewis, Dean of the University Library, Indiana University Purdue University Indianapolis

In this presentation I will review the theories of business strategy developed by Clayton Christensen and his colleagues in his three books — the Innovator’s Dilemma, Innovator’s Solution, and Seeing What’s Next. I will apply this work to academic libraries and scholarly communication and will show that academic libraries are likely to be disrupted by new technologies and their application by competing organizations. I will then show that libraries also have the potential to drive, and benefit from, disruptive change especially in the scholarly communication value chain. The result should provide guidance to academic librarians in establishing strategies, organizational structures, and values that will position academic libraries in the scholarly information and learning value chains in ways that will assure their relevance to our various clienteles.

The result should provide attendees with a basic understanding of the most important of Christensen’s theories and how they can provide insights into the current state of academic libraries and help to chart the future.

This work will build on my article, (Lewis, David W. “The Innovator’s Dilemma: Disruptive Change and Academic Libraries.” Library Administration and Management 18(2):68-74 April 2004. Available at: http://idea.iupui.edu/dspace/handle/1805/173), but will advance and develop it in significant ways.

From the mid-1990s through 2004, the University of Kentucky Libraries were organized in a team-based organizational structure. The team structure was implemented in concert with the opening of the new main library, and its focus was on service centers that featured rotating leadership and management by consensus. Over the course of six or seven years, the model thrived in some units and created difficulty in others. Find out about the process of reorganizing a library from a team-based structure, and discover how a small working group developed a new organization focusing on users, work redesign, and accountability. Learn the basic steps in a system-wide work redesign process and complete a brief assessment of your library's readiness for work redesign.

The University of Chicago’s Joseph Regenstein Library Bookstacks Department has used a number of management techniques to successfully improve its overall operations. Process mapping was undertaken and resulted in significant changes to major processes and jobs, while continuous process improvement allows us to resolve issues as they arise. A multiple method approach works best because the Regenstein Library is a large organization with many processes, systems and structures.

While these processes have led to major improvements - making materials available more quickly and accurately to users and by reducing time and staff needed to perform daily operations - the Department continues to search for ways to improve its overall operations. In examining other businesses for best practices, we have begun to focus on lean manufacturing, an initiative centered on eliminating all waste in manufacturing processes. These principles also apply to service organizations. Lean manufacturing promises dramatic changes in a short period of time and the speaker will report on how this method is being used to improve overall operations.

Finding the Power of Community of Practice: Lessons Learned from a National Diversity Recruitment Initiative

Assessing the impact of new grant initiatives is tricky, especially when the goals of the project are far-reaching and significant organizational change is called for. We will describe how we approached the assessment of an IMLS-funded grant initiative to build a national corps of diverse new professionals ready for work in metropolitan public libraries across a variety of American neighborhoods. Starting with the impacts on Scholars, researchers and program leaders further uncovered multiple levels of impact in organizations, the profession, and the public library industry. Their “hot off the press” evaluation provides insights on effective new paths for building recruitment and retention strategies in organizations and for building bridges between academic and practical experiences, and, consequently, significantly shaping a preferred future for the “business” of public libraries in cities.

The Future of GIS Services in Academic Libraries: Exploring the Next Step

In 1992, the Association for Research Libraries Geographic Information Systems (GIS) Literacy Project introduced libraries to GIS technology in response to the distribution of electronic geospatial data by the US Census Bureau and the availability of relative inexpensive GIS software. Since that time, there have been many technological and other changes that have affected the range of GIS services libraries provide, such as increased availability of online geospatial data, online interactive mapping, and integration of GIS into non-geography classes. What’s on the horizon? How will changes in libraries, technology, and GIS affect GIS services in libraries? The University of Arizona Library’s Arizona Electronic Atlas project, in consultation with other units on campus, is exploring how we can design a web-based “decision-support” geospatial tool that will help students and faculty analyze various scenarios or models to help make better decisions on various issues such as groundwater management, land use planning, housing development and wildfire prevention.

Going Beyond the One-Shot Instructional Session for Freshman English

Presenters:
Victoria Mills, University of Arizona Library
Leslie Sult, University of Arizona Library

During Spring semester 2005, budgetary constraints, personnel reductions, and questions of efficacy challenged librarians at the University of Arizona to develop a more integrated method for assisting instructors and students in teaching and learning information literacy skills. In order to meet this challenge, University of Arizona librarians collaborated with the University’s English Composition program to develop an instructor-led, librarian facilitated approach to integrating information literacy instruction into the English Composition curriculum. The approach that the University of Arizona Library has developed will be described and the resources that were created will be shared during this session with the hopes that it will serve to assist librarians elsewhere in developing their own responses to similar challenges.

It's been 10 years since the Government Printing Office issued its study to identify measures necessary for a successful transition to a more electronic federal depository library program. In the interim, GPO and depository libraries have been transitioning to electronic dissemination while at the same time continuing to manage the legacy collection of print and other tangible formats. In this session, participants will discuss the upcoming opportunities and challenges we can expect as we continue to function in the hybrid environment. Among the issues to be addressed: digitization, collaboration, training, staffing and strategic vision.

In the pursuit of creating a culture of assessment, Purdue University has been developing organizational structures to encourage teams and units to integrate assessment and evaluation throughout their work projects. We created an Evaluation and Assessment Consultative Team (EACT) five years ago to assist units with their assessments, and for the past few years, the Libraries have explicitly required teams to include measurable outcomes in their annual planning documents. This presentation will describe the planning process that our teams and units go through to integrate assessment into their work, including staff development activities sponsored by EACT that prepare teams for this process. Examples of team-engendered assessments will be shared as well. The brief presentation of the assessment situation at Purdue will be a springboard into a discussion of the challenges teams face when asked to include outcomes in their planning. The audience will be divided into small groups to construct a list of challenges and will report them out. Then, as a group, we'll brainstorm staff development, administrative, or other techniques to address those challenges.

Presenters:
Martha Kyrillidou, Association of Research Libraries
Steve Hiller, University of Washington Libraries
Jim Self, University of Virginia Library

The Association of Research Libraries sponsored program "Making Library Assessment Work" is a two year effort to evaluate assessment efforts in ARL Libraries. Led by Visiting Program Officers Steve Hiller (University of Washington Libraries) and Jim Self (University of Virginia Library) and under the aegis of the Director of the ARL Statistics and Measurement Program, Martha Kyrillidou, twenty-five ARL libraries are participating. Each library does a "self study" of their assessment efforts and needs which is followed by a 2 day site visit and a report containing recommendations and suggestions for an effective, sustainable and practical assessment program.

One of the more interesting findings from the 12 libraries visited in 2005 was the relationship of organizational culture(s) and structure to effective library assessment. Each library had a distinctive culture (or cultures) that exerted a powerful influence on the success of assessment efforts. It became clear that sustainable and effective assessment must take into account existing local cultures to be successful. What works in one library won't necessarily work in others. This presentation reviews the range of organizational cultures encountered and discusses the different approaches recommended to make library assessment work in each library.

The University of Arizona goal is to be the Hispanic university for Arizona. The library strives, through collections of secondary and primary resources to support the university mission, our Hispanic community, research and teaching. The art and architecture project involves assessing the present collection for important books and resources, work with the archivist of the Borderland Special Collection to collect primary resources, make a list of connections in Mexico for books and primary resources, build a collection development policy to cover the arts and architecture, and work with faculty teaching courses and doing research on Mexico that use our secondary and primary resources.

Pathway to the Future: Library Bibliographic Services for the 21st Century

Our users have a new set of expectations for libraries as Internet services such as Amazon and Google offer them simplicity and immediate reward. How must our fragmented bibliographic systems and practices evolve to remain relevant to scholars in the future? In 2005, the University Librarians of the University of California charged a task force to tackle that question, to rethink how we provide bibliographic services and recommend a roadmap for the future. The UC Bibliographic Services Task Force report <http://libraries.universityofcalifornia.edu/sopag/BSTF/Final.pdf> is a call for change and a call to action. The entire University of California library system is currently giving feedback on the recommendations and discussing next steps. In this session, two members of the task force will describe how the report took shape and how the UC Libraries will now move from vision to decision.

Traditionally, technical services staff have possessed skills associated with acquisitions, cataloging, collection development, preservation and stacks management responsibilities. However in today’s rapidly changing library, technical services roles and responsibilities have changed. Technical services departments now require advanced technology, academic training, public services, and teaching skills that support innovative, independent, creative, and forward-thinking approaches to the provision of collections and services. How can libraries acquire and cultivate needed skills? What effect can new skill sets have on designing workflow, setting priorities, accomplishing goals, and meeting user expectations? This presentation will focus on the University of Connecticut Libraries process for identifying new and essential skills, recruiting new staff, and the impact new skill sets and experiences have had on changing the dynamics and directions of Technical Services.

Drawing on the personal experiences of the presenters and from discussions held at the UCLA Senior Fellows 2005 program, participants will be provided with an overview of the Kegan and Lahey book, "How the Way We Talk Can Change the Way We Work: Seven Languages for Transformation." Participants will also take part in interactive exercises that will help them create a process for making transformational changes in both their personal and professional lives.

Presenter:Gale S. Etschmaier, Associate University Librarian for Public Services, Gelman Library, George Washington University

The Gelman Library System of George Washington University has made a transition to an organizational model that emphasizes the needs of students and working in groups. We are preparing for future changes in user needs and redefinition of services, including participation in LibQUAL+ in spring of 2006 and small “town meetings” with library staff to develop an understanding of the changing student population. In these meetings, we hope to include focus groups from a local science and technology magnet school to learn more about what future students will expect and need from academic libraries. One of the key services we hope to look at is reference and information services and how this should fit with overall services. We will also need to become “leaner” but more efficient. Some staff positions may disappear, and others may require higher or different skill levels. As we plan for the future, we will need to face the challenges of our own collaborative nature and whether this supports or inhibits change. Some areas of focus include: communication, team structures and breaking down barriers between functions, and challenges working with staff from different generations (are Gen X’s ready to be the “older” generation?)

The UA Library embarked on a new long-range strategic planning process utilizing new techniques to determine our future directions. Come hear how we shortened our planning process and where we’re headed in the future!

Two Libraries, One Plan: Combining and Refining Technical Services Across Two Campuses

Presenters:
Andrea Peakovic, Head of Government Documents, Kenyon College
Ellen P. Conrad, Catalog Specialist, Denison University

The Libraries of Kenyon College and Denison University, supported by a Mellon Foundation grant, have collaboratively redesigned and merged their technical services departments into one combined unit, through the creation of a joint department of Collection Services. As members of the Five Colleges of Ohio and OhioLINK consortia, both libraries have a long standing history of cooperation. This venture, however, takes cooperation to a new level of collaboration by merging one department within two distinct libraries, geographically separated on two campuses.

This presentation will be geared towards providing valuable insight to other libraries who might be considering new ventures in collaboration and work redesign. Key elements of this unique plan will be highlighted, such as staff empowerment and redefined workflows, while the focus of the presentation will be on the process undertaken in planning and implementing the redesign project. Recognizing that successful reorganization at this level is not a given, the presenters will include a frank discussion of both the keys to success, as well as those things that have been bumps in the road, so that others may anticipate both the challenges and rewards of rethinking the role of technical services within our libraries.

Over the past several years, Bucknell University has been deeply engaged in creating a combined Library/IT organization. Because of the complex work of merging two related but very different organizations (with vastly different organizational cultures), we have had to be purposeful and thoughtful about developing a new culture that brings the best of our traditional organizations forward. Early in the process, we developed a set of “values” which includes “We Value Leadership Throughout the Organization.” Success depends on all members of the organization providing appropriate leadership in their work. Our leadership value has an impact on our professional development, communication and collaboration activities. This presentation describes how we are putting significance to this value and what it means for our entire staff, as well as people in “leadership positions.”

The Access & Delivery team was charged with providing the UA Libraries with a report summarizing recommended long and short-term strategies in directing the library for the future. This poster illustrates the path that the Access & Delivery team took to arrive at recommendations and strategies for the UA Library’s strategic plan.

Creating an Integrated Library System Using Open Source Software for Afghanistan Academic Libraries

This poster session describes building an Integrated Library System (ILS) for Afghanistan academic libraries using open source software. We will present our approaches in software selection, improvements, and modifications such as Persian language support and users interface.

This poster will explore the development of books in China in the past, present and the future. China can easily claim a few firsts, including the invention of paper, wood block printing and moveable type. Today China is also advancing rapidly to become a major player in the electronic publishing arena. Challenges and problems such as copyright issues and lack of electronic book display standards will also be discussed in the presentation.

Direction and Vision for the Delivery of and Access to Information Resources

This session will focus on how strategic directions are established for the University of Arizona Libraries in order to satisfy
customers information resource needs in a timely, efficient, and transparent fashion. We will discuss how the Library develops
cost-effective solutions meetings customers' needs for access to information.

The Exposure Project: Cultivating Content for Multimedia Access to Collections and Archives

Presenters:
Barbara Allen, Assistant Director for Internal Operations
Dianne Nilsen, Head of Collections Imaging
Center for Creative Photography, The University of Arizona Libraries

What do you do when you are the stewards of the country’s premiere photographic archive? How do you make the artistry of Ansel Adams and Edward Weston, and other significant photographers, accessible to the photo enthusiast, the scholar, and the middle school students writing their first term paper? What do we mean when we say we want depth and breadth and interactivity for remote users? In this poster session, the Center for Creative Photography’s Exposure Project will be discussed and sampled.

Finding Information In a New Landscape: Re-thinking Reference Services

The information landscape is in flux -- customer’s use of traditional reference services are shrinking while libraries are being called upon to take on new responsibilities. This poster shows how the UA Libraries shifted its reference services to meet customer’s needs in the new landscape and allow librarians to have the flexibility to take on new work.

Leadership Team Restructuring for "Where Next": The Changing Role of the UA Library Cabinet

Presenters:
Shelley Phipps, AD for Team and Organizational Effectiveness, Human Resources and Organizational Effectiveness Team
Pat Promis, Team Leader, Special Collections, Fine Arts and Humanities Team
The University of Arizona Libraries

The Library Cabinet has taken on new responsibilities for operationalizing the Strategic Plan in our streamlined structure. They have also changed the way they conduct business to make decisions more transparent, to include stakeholders in their deliberations, and to improve communication with the larger library staff.

This poster will showcase innovative technology used by the UAL Special Collections in providing greater accessibility for researchers to oral history collections.

“Show me the Money”: Starting a Grants and Revenue Initiative to Leverage Assets

Presenters:
Bess de Farber
Maliaca Oxnam
The University of Arizona Libraries

Learn from the UA Libraries' journey to solve a variety of organizational and operational issues that culminated in 2005 with the establishment of a new full-time position of Grants & Revenue Manager. We'll share our learnings, experiments, collaborations, and current status of the UA Libraries Grants & Revenue Program, now in its eighth month.

In the past several years circulation and shelving statistics as well as the usage of print reserves have declined. At the University of Arizona we have been working to move from a traditional mediated service environment towards increased user self-sufficiency, where the basic circulation transactions become unmediated. Come learn how we have implemented open holds, reserves and soon self check-in. Learn how we have consolidated services into a single desk, the challenges we faced and competencies required to create a new future for your circulation staff.

First, we brought you “Where’s the Book? We Found It!” A look at the problem of why customers can’t find library owned materials. Now we bring you the sequel, what solutions we implemented to solve these problems and what effects these solutions have had.

Presenters:
Jeanne Voyles
Ellen Knight
The University of Arizona Librares

Results of the University of Arizona’s Six Sigma process improvement of the Interlibrary Loan article borrowing process will be shared: user survey results, problems that were addressed to improve the process, statistics describing our processes before and after improvement and our cost analysis summary. In this study Turn Around Time (TAT) was improved: From: 42% of requests delivered within 3 days To: 68% delivered within 3 days; AND the Cost per Article was reduced: From $8.43 To: $7.97 (with more savings to come).